Tom Osler's guest appearances

Tom Osler

Ultrarunning History

Bernd Heinrich

Alan Jones

Sandra Brown

Andy West

Ruth Anderson

Don Choi

Peter Dawson

Ted Corbitt

Jackie Mekler

Edward Payson

Don Ritchie

Ron Bentley

Soldier Barnes

Marathon Golfing

Yiannis Kouros

OwlTail

By Davy CrockettThomas Joseph Osler (1940-2023) of Camden, New Jersey, was a mathematician, former national champion distance runner, and author. His published running training theories have made a deep impact on distance running for multiple generations. His book, Serious Runner’s Handbook became a classic book on running. He was the first to verbalize in a way that was really understandable to most athletes. Runner's World wrote, "Tom Osler was among those who helped push and pull America toward the running mania of the 1970s."His pioneer 1976 24-hour run in New Jersey brought renewed focus on the 24-hour run in America. He won multiple national championships and was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame. During his running career, he ran in more than 2,100 races of various distances.Of his youth, Osler said, “I was a sickly little kid at 12 or 13 and didn’t have many friends. This annoyed me, so I decided to leap head-first into every sport there was. I was terrible. I came home night after night looking like an ad for the Blue Cross." He was an excellent student, but purposely lowered his grades for a while in order to fit in as a “regular guy.” His gang in his neighborhood picked distance running as "that day’s form of athletic torture." When he was still 13 in 1954. He jumped in head-first and started to run. He discovered that there were races of a mile and further. He also learned about the current local running hero and Olympian, Browning Ross (1924-1998).Browning Ross wins the 1954 AAU 30K Championship. Young Tom Osler on left.Osler heard about a 30K race, a national championship, which was scheduled for Atlantic City. He went to watch it and met Ross for the first time.  Ross won, and Osler got into the finishing picture by holding the finish-line tape.Osler grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He had dreams he would be the first person to break the four-minute mile. He went to work training by running around his block. In 1954, England’s Roger Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile barrier, which crushed Osler's dream. His best mile was 4:54, which was disappointing to him, but he was one of the best high school milers in Camden. He finished his first marathon when he was 16 years old with a time of 3:27. In high school, he excelled in his classes, especially in the sciences. At Camden High, he was instrumental in getting a cross-country team established.Osler joined the Camden YMCA and competed in his first running race on December 5, 1954, the 32nd annual Camden YMCA handicap street run of 4.7 miles. Browning Ross won it.One of Osler's High School EventsEarly on, Osler was pretty much self-taught using things he found about running. read. He eventually found a  seasoned running mentor, John "Jack" Albert Barry (1925-1993), from who competed against elite runners such as Browning Ross and Ted Corbitt.For more details of Osler's early running life, read an excellent article and Osler interviews conducted by Coach Jack Heath: The Running Chronicles of Tom Osler.Off to CollegeOsler's father was a plumbing contractor and sacrificed to make sure Tom went to college. In 1957, he went to Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, where he studied physics and won many academic awards. Osler loved running and found time during his busy college life to be deeply involved with road running as well.Road Runners Club of AmericaIn 1959, Browning Ross invited Tom Osler and others to witness the National Indoor Track Meet at Madison Square Garden. While there, representatives of various running districts got together at the Parmount Hotel and organized the Road Runners Club (RRC). Osler became the first co-secretary of the RRC. He raced multiple times a month in many shorter races put on by Ross in Philadelphia and throughout New Jersey.Running ImprovedFor his first six years of serious running,

By Davy Crockett Thomas Joseph Osler (1940-2023) of Camden, New Jersey, was a mathematician, former national champion distance runner, and author. His published running training theories have made a deep impact on distance running for multiple generations. His book, Serious Runner’s Handbook became a classic book on running. He was the first to verbalize in a way that was really understandable to most athletes. Runner's World wrote, "Tom Osler was among those who helped push and pull America toward the running mania of the 1970s." His pioneer 1976 24-hour run in New Jersey brought renewed focus on the 24-hour run in America. He won multiple national championships and was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame. During his running career, he ran in more than 2,100 races of various distances. Of his youth, Osler said, “I was a sickly little kid at 12 or 13 and didn’t have many friends. This annoyed me, so I decided to leap head-first into every sport there was. I was terrible. I came home night after night looking like an ad for the Blue Cross." He was an excellent student, but purposely lowered his grades for a while in order to fit in as a “regular guy.” His gang in his neighborhood picked distance running as "that day’s form of athletic torture." When he was still 13 in 1954. He jumped in head-first and started to run. He discovered that there were races of a mile and further. He also learned about the current local running hero and Olympian, Browning Ross (1924-1998). Browning Ross wins the 1954 AAU 30K Championship. Young Tom Osler on left. Osler heard about a 30K race, a national championship, which was scheduled for Atlantic City. He went to watch it and met Ross for the first time.  Ross won, and Osler got into the finishing picture by holding the finish-line tape. Osler grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He had dreams he would be the first person to break the four-minute mile. He went to work training by running around his block. In 1954, England’s Roger Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile barrier, which crushed Osler's dream. His best mile was 4:54, which was disappointing to him, but he was one of the best high school milers in Camden. He finished his first marathon when he was 16 years old with a time of 3:27. In high school, he excelled in his classes, especially in the sciences. At Camden High, he was instrumental in getting a cross-country team established. Osler joined the Camden YMCA and competed in his first running race on December 5, 1954, the 32nd annual Camden YMCA handicap street run of 4.7 miles. Browning Ross won it. One of Osler's High School Events Early on, Osler was pretty much self-taught using things he found about running. read. He eventually found a  seasoned running mentor, John "Jack" Albert Barry (1925-1993), from who competed against elite runners such as Browning Ross and Ted Corbitt. For more details of Osler's early running life, read an excellent article and Osler interviews conducted by Coach Jack Heath: The Running Chronicles of Tom Osler. Off to College Osler's father was a plumbing contractor and sacrificed to make sure Tom went to college. In 1957, he went to Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, where he studied physics and won many academic awards. Osler loved running and found time during his busy college life to be deeply involved with road running as well. Road Runners Club of America In 1959, Browning Ross invited Tom Osler and others to witness the National Indoor Track Meet at Madison Square Garden. While there, representatives of various running districts got together at the Parmount Hotel and organized the Road Runners Club (RRC). Osler became the first co-secretary of the RRC. He raced multiple times a month in many shorter races put on by Ross in Philadelphia and throughout New Jersey. Running Improved For his first six years of serious running,

131: Tom Osler – The Serious Runner

Cavin Woodward

By Davy Crockett In the early 1970s, several highly competitive 100-mile races had been held in England, but they were still primarily organized for attempts to break British or world records. In 1975 another classic race was held, perhaps one of the greatest and most competitive 100-mile race ever held. It left one reporter speechless, witnessing something that he would never forget, watching some of the fastest 100-mile runners ever, and experiencing the sportsmanship of ultrarunning for the first time. This story must be retold.In America, 100-mile races were being held, open to anyone who wanted to give it a try, even the naïve. In 1975, the annual Camellia 100 held in the Sacramento, California area was held for the fifth year.But the oldest annual American 100-miler that tends to be forgotten, was the Columbia 100 Mile Walk held in Columbia, Missouri. In 1975 It was held for the ninth year. There had been 23 sub-24-hour 100-miler finishes in its history. But this was nothing compared to Great Britain. There, 100-mile walking races had been held annually since 1946, for 30 years, with more than 450 finishes in less than 24 hours.Elsewhere, the Durban 100 held every-other year in South Africa, had been competed six times, with at least 33 finishers (only partial results have been preserved). In Italy, 24-hour races had been held every year since 1970 with 100-mile finishers. In 1975, a 24-hour race with many 100-mile finishers was competed inside the Soviet controlled iron curtain, in Czechoslovakia.Please help support this podcast. I’ve joined a partnership with Ultrarunning Magazine. I can offer a 25% discount on Ultrarunning Magazine subscriptions and renewals. Visit https://ultrarunning.com/ultrarunning-history/  Subscribe or renew today.The Greatest 100-miler – Acolade 100 On October 25, 1975, at the Tipton Sports Union Stadium in Tipton, England, the British Road Runners Club put on the Acolade 100-mile race that has been called the “Greatest 100 Miles” by world ultrarunning history authority, Andy Milroy. Why was it so significant?The 100-miler was an invitation-only race and 18 competitors were carefully selected out of a large group who were interested. All were very experienced ultrarunners, but only a few had actually finished a 100-miler. The most experienced 100-miler runner was Ron Bentley, the current 24-hour world-record holder of 161 miles (see episode 65). But Bentley was hampered by a recent groin injury. The race was held just three weeks after the major ultramarathon of the time, London to Brighton (52 miles). This was a concern because some of the runners also ran there, but they held to the scheduled date.Cavin Woodward Cavin Woodward (1947-2010) was an accountant from Whitnash, England. He started running at the age of 16 in 1963 when he joined the Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club (LC&amp;A), starting a lifetime membership.Cavin Woodward in 1967He took up marathon running in 1971 because he “felt sorry” for Leamington’s veteran marathoner, Tom Buckingham (1918-1976), age 53, who seemed like he always was the only club member competing in marathon events. Buckingham had started running in 1946. Woodward said, “Tom never seemed to have any support so I decided to run with him. Other distance runners then joined the club.”  Soon several runners in the club started to compete in London to Brighton (52 miles).At first Woodward competed in races more for enjoyment than for winning. He said, “But my wife Carol changed that. She was fed up with coming to watch me do not good, so she mapped out a training schedule for me and made sure that I kept to it. It proved a great incentive because Carol comes to watch all my races and gives me encouragement.” She would also bring along their twin boys. Woodward ran his first London to Brighton (52 miles) in 1971 and finished 17th. He said, “I was more interested in finishing than my final posit...

By Davy Crockett  In the early 1970s, several highly competitive 100-mile races had been held in England, but they were still primarily organized for attempts to break British or world records. In 1975 another classic race was held, perhaps one of the greatest and most competitive 100-mile race ever held. It left one reporter speechless, witnessing something that he would never forget, watching some of the fastest 100-mile runners ever, and experiencing the sportsmanship of ultrarunning for the first time. This story must be retold. In America, 100-mile races were being held, open to anyone who wanted to give it a try, even the naïve. In 1975, the annual Camellia 100 held in the Sacramento, California area was held for the fifth year. But the oldest annual American 100-miler that tends to be forgotten, was the Columbia 100 Mile Walk held in Columbia, Missouri. In 1975 It was held for the ninth year. There had been 23 sub-24-hour 100-miler finishes in its history. But this was nothing compared to Great Britain. There, 100-mile walking races had been held annually since 1946, for 30 years, with more than 450 finishes in less than 24 hours. Elsewhere, the Durban 100 held every-other year in South Africa, had been competed six times, with at least 33 finishers (only partial results have been preserved). In Italy, 24-hour races had been held every year since 1970 with 100-mile finishers. In 1975, a 24-hour race with many 100-mile finishers was competed inside the Soviet controlled iron curtain, in Czechoslovakia. Please help support this podcast. I’ve joined a partnership with Ultrarunning Magazine. I can offer a 25% discount on Ultrarunning Magazine subscriptions and renewals. Visit <a href="https://ultrarunning.com/ultrarunning-history/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://ultrarunning.com/ultrarunning-history/</a>  Subscribe or renew today. The Greatest 100-miler – Acolade 100 On October 25, 1975, at the Tipton Sports Union Stadium in Tipton, England, the British Road Runners Club put on the Acolade 100-mile race that has been called the “Greatest 100 Miles” by world ultrarunning history authority, Andy Milroy. Why was it so significant? The 100-miler was an invitation-only race and 18 competitors were carefully selected out of a large group who were interested. All were very experienced ultrarunners, but only a few had actually finished a 100-miler. The most experienced 100-miler runner was Ron Bentley, the current 24-hour world-record holder of 161 miles (see episode 65). But Bentley was hampered by a recent groin injury. The race was held just three weeks after the major ultramarathon of the time, London to Brighton (52 miles). This was a concern because some of the runners also ran there, but they held to the scheduled date. Cavin Woodward Cavin Woodward (1947-2010) was an accountant from Whitnash, England. He started running at the age of 16 in 1963 when he joined the Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club (LC&amp;A), starting a lifetime membership. Cavin Woodward in 1967 He took up marathon running in 1971 because he “felt sorry” for Leamington’s veteran marathoner, Tom Buckingham (1918-1976), age 53, who seemed like he always was the only club member competing in marathon events. Buckingham had started running in 1946. Woodward said, “Tom never seemed to have any support so I decided to run with him. Other distance runners then joined the club.”  Soon several runners in the club started to compete in London to Brighton (52 miles). At first Woodward competed in races more for enjoyment than for winning. He said, “But my wife Carol changed that. She was fed up with coming to watch me do not good, so she mapped out a training schedule for me and made sure that I kept to it. It proved a great incentive because Carol comes to watch all my races and gives me encouragement.” She would also bring along their twin boys. Woodward ran his first London to Brighton (52 miles) in 1971 and finished 17th. He said, “I was more interested in finishing than my final posit...

67: The 100-miler: Part 14 (1975-1976) Cavin Woodward and Tom Osler